Celiac disease

Chronicle

2024: MIPT develops prototype gluten intolerance drug

MIPT has developed a prototype medicine for gluten intolerance. It was possible to create a 3D model of the future drug substance using the AlphaFold neural network. The main active substance was the enzyme transglutaminase (tTG). Study findings published in journal Scientific Reports. This was announced on September 13, 2024 by representatives of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Read more here.

Risks of consumption of gluten-containing products

In children (in typical cases), after the introduction of gluten-containing foods into the diet after 1.5-2 months, symptoms such as gratuitous vomiting, foamy, fetid stools, impaired appetite, loss of body weight may appear. More often it develops gradually, the child can show irritability, bad sleep. Sometimes the impetus for the development of the disease can be the infection suffered by the baby.

At an older age, so-called atypical forms or unexpressed intestinal symptoms are more common: periodic abdominal pain, bloating, sometimes diarrhea. At the same time, there may be a number of other symptoms: weakness, fatigue, atopic dermatitis, frequent stomatitis, bone and joint pain, tooth decay, headaches, sleep disturbance, depression. Malabsorption in the small intestine due to the toxic effects of gluten can lead to growth delay, pronounced deficient conditions - anemia (iron deficiency and B12), osteoporosis.

Diet for disease

For 2020, a strict gluten-free diet is recommended for celiac disease, which must be followed for life. She suggests the complete exclusion of "explicit" gluten-containing foods, as well as those that have "hidden gluten" and even traces of it.

Such products include all cereals, flour, bakery, pasta, confectionery products obtained from wheat, rye, barley and oats. In addition, this list includes bulgur, couscous, spelt, spelt, kamut, wheat, semolina, barley, pearl barley.

"Hidden gluten" can be used as a food additive in the production of a large list of products: sausages, crab sticks, various canned food (including fruit or vegetable), tomato pastes, ketchups, curd pastes and cheeses, processed cheeses, mayonnaise, various sauces, chips, sweets, kvass, beer and that's not all.

The diet of patients with celiac disease depends on the period of the disease, the severity of the condition, age and should be built under the supervision of a nutritionist with experience in managing such patients.

The composition of the diet is based on the general principles of balance - a sufficient amount of full-fledged proteins, high-quality fats and, of course, carbohydrates obtained from transported cereals, legumes, potatoes, vegetables and fruits. In celiac disease, rice, buckwheat, corn, millet, amaranth, quinoa, sorghum can be used. Safe are flour made from these cereals, as well as flour and starches of potatoes, legumes. Considering that even traces of gluten can worsen the condition of a patient with celiac disease, specialized products are recommended, which are produced on separate production lines and are marked "gluten-free" (the "crossed-out ear" sign with the designation of the manufacturing country and numbering corresponding to the product number in the licensing system).

"Dietary design should take into account the presence of secondary disorders associated with macro- and micronutrient deficiency, which may require correction. If "deficient states" are detected in a gluten-free diet, the content of trace elements, for example, iron and copper, calcium and B vitamins, can be increased, "says Zhanna Ladnova, nutritionist at Medicine JSC (clinic of academician Reutberg).

It is worth noting that recently the number of people who are prescribed a gluten-free diet has increased markedly. The frequency of development of such gluten-dependent diseases as wheat allergy, gluten intolerance or "gluten sensitivity" is growing - a condition in which symptoms similar to celiac disease and allergies develop when products containing gluten are received, but the latter are excluded during examination. Unlike celiac disease, "gluten sensitivity" can be dose-dependent - when small doses of gluten are received, the body does not show any reactions, but it is worth exceeding its own norm and signs will appear. Of course, if gluten intolerance is detected, the doctor will prescribe a gluten-free diet and a set of medical measures. You should not exclude a whole group of products yourself, there is a possibility of a number of consequences associated with a shortage of important nutrients.